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GREGG'S CAVALRY FIGHT AT GETTYSBURG. 



HISTORICAL ADDRESS ^^ 



Delivered October 15th, 1884, 



UPON THE OCCASION OF THE 



Dedication of the Monumental Shaft 



ERECTED UPON THE SITE OF 



THE CAVALRY ENGAGEMENT 

On the Right Flank of the Army of the Potomac, 
July 3d, 1863, during the 

BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 



BY 

WILLIAM BROOKE-RAWLE, 

Secretary of The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, formerly Captain Third 
Pennsylvania Cavalry, and Brevet Lieutenant- Colonel U. S. V. 



PHILADELPHIA. 
18S4. 



Jf 






^2 3 



WE hav^e gathered together, my comrades, to com- 
memorate the good work done here twenty-one years 
and more ago. What that work was is briefly told by 
this monumental shaft of enduring granite which we are 
now dedicating to the truth of history. Its inscription tells 
us that 

THIS SHAFT 

MARKS THE FIELD OF THE ENGAGEMENT 

BETWEEN THE 

UNION CAVALRY 

COMMANDED BY BRIG. -GEN. D. McM. GREGG 

AND THE 

CONFEDERATE CAVALRY 

COMMANDED BY MAJ.-GEN. J. E. B. STUART 

JULY 3D, 1863. 

What memories do these simple words recall ! As we 
stand here, looking upon this beautiful landscape, sur- 
rounded by these well-remembered hills, and fields, and 
woods, the recollections of that bright summer day crowd 
thick and fast upon us. Let us go back together in our 
thoughts to the eventful time when first we met on this 
historic field, and sanctified it with the blood then shed, 
the trials endured, and sacrifices made in defence of the 
Nation's Cause. 

I have told the stoiy of the fight before.* Here, upon 
the ground where it occurred, I venture to tell it once 

* The account here given is substantially the same as that published for the first 
time in The Philadelphia Weekly Times of September 14th, 1878, in the series of 
" Chapters of Unwritten History in the .\nnals of the War," under the title of "The 
Right Flank at Gettysburg," but revised with the aid of additional information and 
official records. 

(3) 



4 

again. It is a simple and an unvarnished tale, with no 
words of eulogy of men, or of exultation over the defeat 
of a gallant foe. 

The objects had in view by the Confederate authorities 
when, after the battle of Chancellorsville, the invasion of 
the North was projected, in the spring of the year 1863, are 
well known. To transfer the seat of war, permanently if pos- 
sible, or at any rate temporarily, to the country north of the 
Potomac, thus giving to those who remained at home a 
chance of securing the harvest from the fields of Virginia, 
and at the same time making probable the recognition of 
the Confederate cause by the hesitating powers of Europe, 
was a bold game to play. No time was lost in setting 
about it. In the early days of June, the Army of North- 
ern Virginia began to show signs of activity. The cavalry 
of the Army of the Potomac had returned worn out and 
jaded from Stoneman's raid, but after a short rest was again 
put in motion, and was kept actively engaged in watching 
the movements of the Confederate army. On the 9th of 
June the cavalry battle of Brandy Station was fought, and 
the intended invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania was 
discovered through Confederate dispatches captured upon 
that occasion. Reconnoissances-in-force and scouting in 
all directions daily followed that brilliant passage-at-arms. 
The equally well-fought cavalry battles of Aldie, Middleburg 
and Upperville ensued. Hard work and starvation told heav- 
ily upon both men and horses, and when Buford's and 
Gregg's Divisions, covering the rear of the army, crossed 
the Potomac at Edwards' Ferry during the afternoon of the 
27th of June, their physical condition was far short of what 
could have been desired. After crossing the river Gregg's 
Division, consistiner of the brigades of Colonel Mcintosh 



5 

(First), General Kilpatrick (Second), and Colonel Irvin 
Gregg (Third), started on the march about dusk, and, keep- 
ing it up steadily all night long, reached Frederick, Md., 
early on the morning of the 28th. 

During a short halt at that place, General Kilpatrick was 
ordered to take command of Stahel's Division of Ca\'alry, 
which, as the Third Division, was assigned to duty with 
the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac, and Gen- 
erals Farnsworth and Custer were appointed to command 
the two brigades of which it was composed. 

In the movements of the Army of the Potomac after 
crossing into Maryland, the Cavalry Corps, with its three 
divisions, operated in its front and on its flanks. General 
Buford with the First Division took the left flank. General 
Kilpatrick with the Third Division the centre, and General 
Gregg with the Second Division the right flank. On June 
30th, Kilpatrick, having taken the direct and shorter road 
from Frederick, struck the cavalry of the Army of Northern 
Virginia at Hanover, and intercepted its line of march to 
join Lee's army. Being thus headed off it was compelled 
to move over to the right, with Kilpatrick in close pur- 
suit. 

In the concentration upon Gettysburg, Gregg, with the 
First and Third Brigades of his division, left Hanover at day- 
break on the 2d of July, and about noon, after a tedious 
and exhausting march, took position on the Hanover (or 
Bonaughtown) Road near its intersection with the Low 
Dutch Road, about three and a half miles east of the 
town — IMcIntosh's Brigade on the right and Irvin Gregg's 
on the left. 

These two brigades were constituted as follows : — 

The First Brigade, commanded by Colonel John B. Mc- 
intosh of the Third Pennsylvania Cavalry, consisted of his 



own regiment under Lieutenant-Colonel Edward S. Jones, 
the First New Jersey Cavalry under Major Myron H. 
Beaumont, and the First Maryland Cavalry under Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel James M. Deems, with Captain A. M. Ran- 
dol's Light Battery E— G, First United States Artil- 
lery, of four three-inch rifled guns. It was temporarily 
deprived of much of its strength by the loss of the First 
Pennsylvania and First Massachusetts Cavalry regiments 
which had been detached for special service with the Re- 
serve Artillery and the Sixth Corps respectively. A sec- 
tion of a light battery (H) belonging to the Third Penn- 
sylvania Artillery, under command of Captain William D. 
Rank, and the Purnell Troop of Maryland Cavalry, under 
Captain Robert E. Duvall, were also serving temporarily with 
the First Brigade, having, on the evening of June 28th, 
while proceeding from Frederick to Baltimore, been cut off 
by the Confederate cavalry, and, narrowly escaping capture, 
having fallen in with the brigade. The Third Brigade, com- 
manded by Colonel J. Irvin Gregg of the Sixteenth Penn- 
sylvania Cavalry, consisted of his own regiment under 
Lieutenant- Colonel John K. Robison, the Fourth Pennsyl- 
vania Cavalry under Lieutenant-Colonel William E. Doster, 
the First Maine Cavalry under Lieutenant-Colonel Charles 
H. Smith, and the Tenth New York Cavalry under Major 
M. Henry Avery. The Second Brigade of the division 
under Colonel Huey had, on July ist, been sent back from 
Hanover Junction for the purpose of guarding the rear of 
the army, and protecting the trains which were to assemble 
at Westminster. 

After crossing the Potomac the column had marched 
steadily day and night, and, having been for many days with- 
out food or forage, the two brigades arrived with wearied 
men and jaded horses upon the field of Gettysburg. The 



7 

lono- march had been a terrible one. The intense heat 
had at times been almost unendurable, the dust almost im- 
penetrable. Horses by the score had fallen from exhaustion 
along the road. Officers and men, begrimed past recogni- 
tion, could have been seen tramping along on foot, leading 
their worn-out horses to save their strength, well knowing 
how much depended upon it. Those whose horses had 
fallen dead or dying had struggled along, some carrying 
their saddles and bridles, in hopes of being able to procure 
fresh mounts, others with nothing but their arms. All had 
been straining their energies in the one direction where 
they knew the enemy was to be found. 

As has been stated, Gregg's column closed up near the 
intersection of the Hanover and Low Dutch Roads about 
noon of July 2d. Two regiments of infantry belonging 
to the Eleventh Corps were found in the advance, de- 
ployed as skirmishers along Brinkerhoff's Ridge, which 
crosses the Hanover Road nearly at right angles, about two 
miles or more east of Gettysburg. In their front, there 
was a considerable force of Confederate infantry. About 
three o'clock the Union infantry line was relieved by the 
Tenth New York Cavalry regiment of Irvin Gregg's Brigade, 
and Rank's two guns were unlimbered and loaded in the 
middle of the Hanover Road on a hill near the Reever* 
house. The officers and men of the command sought what 
rest and shelter from the scorching heat they could, while 
from the hills they watched the conflict between the infantry 
and artillery of the opposing armies. Some of the men 
groomed their horses to freshen them up; some allowed 

* There has been some confusion regarding the appellation of the Reever and Howard 
liouses respectively. In the former account the house at the junction of the Hanover and 
Low Dutch Roads was called the Reever house, and the next house west of it, on the north- 
erly side of the Hanover Road, the Howard house. One of them, at least, so appeared on 
the maps of Adams county. The official map of the field recently prepared transposes these 
names, and, to avoid confusion, the altered designation has been adopted in the te.\t. 



theirs to nibble the rich clover, whilst others, thoroughly 
Avorn out, tried to obtain a little sleep. 

During the afternoon there was some skirmish firing 
between the opposing lines, and about six o'clock Colonel 
Irvin Gregg ordered fifty men of the Tenth New York 
Cavalry to advance dismounted and clear the front. A regi- 
ment of Confederate infantry was at once sent out to meet 
them, and drove back the small party of cavalrymen. Sud- 
denly a part}' of the enemy appeared on the top of Brink- 
erhoff's Ridge where it crosses the Hanover Road. In a 
second Rank's men were at their guns, and put two shells 
into the midst of the party, causing the Confederates to 
fall back instantly under cover of the ridge. " To horse !" 
sounded at once, and the Third Penns}'lvania, advancing at 
a trot along the road toward Gett}-sburg, formed close col- 
umn of squadrons in an orchard back of the Cress house. 
The first two squadrons were quickly dismounted to fight 
on foot, advanced at a run, and in a few minutes were 
deployed at close inter\'als as skirmishers on the summit 
of the eastern spur of Brinkerhoff's Ridge north of the 
road. The Purnell Troop and two battalions of the First 
New Jersey, under Major Janeway and Captain Bo}'d, 
followed, and deployed dismounted on the left of the road 
on the prolongation of the same line, with the third bat- 
talion under Major Beaumont in reserve. A strong, well- 
built stone wall ran along the top of the ridge on the right 
of the road, with a field of tall wheat just ripe for cutting 
on the other side of the wall. This wall was the key of 
the position, as each of the contending parties at once per- 
ceived, and by the time our men reached it a line of Con- 
federate infantry was seen making for it at full speed. The 
fire of Rank's guns had delayed the enemy's advance for 
a sufficient length of time to enable us to get there first, 



and give a withering reception with our breech-loading 
carbines to the infantrymen, who were not more than 
twenty feet off from the wall when we reached it. 

After vainh- attempting to drive our men back, the 
enemy retired to a more sheltered position, along the edge 
of a piece of woods some two hundred yards distant, where 
he remained until after dark, the opposing forces and Rank's 
two guns meanwhile keeping up a brisk firing. Later in the 
evening the Confederates, taking advantage of the darkness, 
turned our right unobserved, and dislodged a portion of our 
line, which, however, was re-established after some trouble. 
Our adversaries proved to be the Second Virginia Infantry, 
of General Walker's celebrated " Stonewall Brigade," which 
latter was supporting it, close at hand, acting as a flanking 
party of Johnson's Division of Ewell's Corps, in its ad- 
vance to the attack of Culp's Hill. The threatening posi- 
tion occupied by the cavalrymen, and their vigorous fight, 
compelled the Confederate brigade to remain on the ground 
until too late to participate in the assault of Culp's Hill* 
which came so near proving successful, and which, had it 
succeeded, would have rendered the heights south of 
Gettysburg untenable. 

About ten o'clock in the evening the line was with- 
drawn, and the two brigades moved over to the Baltimore 
Turnpike, where it crosses White Run, near the position 
of the Reserve Artillery^, and there went into bivouac, in 
accordance with orders from Cavalr>^ Corps headquarters, 
to be available for whatever duty they might be called 
upon to perform on the morrow. 

On the morning of July 3d, General Gregg was directed 
to resume his position on the right of the infantry line, 

♦General Johnson's Report, Confederate Reports of Gettysburg Campaign, page 202. 



lO 

and make a demonstration against the enemy. Upon reach- 
ing the ground occupied by him on the previous day on 
the Hanover Road, he found it in possession of the Sec- 
ond Brigade of the Third Cavahy Division. 

This brigade, known as the "Michigan Brigade," of which 
Brigadier-General George A. Custer had taken command on 
June 29th, was composed of the First, Fifth, Sixth, and Sev- 
enth Michigan Cavahy regiments, commanded by Colonels 
Charles H. Town, Russell A. Alger, George Gray, and 
William D. Mann, respectively, and Light Battery M, 
Second United States Artillery, under Lieutenant A. C. M. 
Pennington, with six three-inch rifled guns. On June 28th, 
the brigade had been assigned to duty with the Army of 
the Potomac ; on the 30th it had been actively engaged 
with the Confederate cavalry at Hanover, and again at 
Hunterstown on July 2d. It was a splendid body ot 
men ; its ranks were better filled than those of the other 
cavalry brigades, and the greater part of it was fresh from 
pastures green. 

General Custer, after his fight with the Confederate cav- 
alry at Hunterstown, had spent the night of July 2d in 
bivouac with the rest of the Third Division at Two Tav- 
erns, a small village on the Baltimore Turnpike, about five 
miles south-east of Gettysburg. His earlier movements of 
the following day are best described in his own words : — 

" At an early hour on the morning of the 3d," he states 
in his official report, " I received an order, through a staff 
officer of the brigadier-general commanding the division, 
to move my command at once and follow the First Bri- 
gade on the road leading from Two Taverns to Gettys- 
burg. Agreeably to the above instructions, my column 
was formed and moved out on the road designated, when 
a staff officer of Brigadier-General Gregg, commanding 



II 

Second Division, ordered me to take my command and 
place it in position on the pike leading from York'^ to 
Gettysburg, which position formed the extreme right of 
our battle on that day. Upon arriving at the point desig- 
nated, I immediately placed my command in position, 
facing toward Gettysburg. At the same time I caused 
reconnoissances to be made on my front, right and rear, 
but failed to discover any considerable force of the en- 
emy. Everything remained quiet till lO A. M., when the 
enemy appeared on my right flank and opened upon me 
with a battery of six guns. Leaving two guns and a regi- 
ment to hold my first position and cover the road lead- 
ing to Gettysburg, I shifted the remaining portion of my 
command, forming a new line of battle at right angles to 
my former line. The eneni}' had obtained correct range 
of my new position, and were pouring solid shot and 
shell into my command with great accuracy. Placing two 
sections of Battery M, Second (regular) Artillery, in posi- 
tion, I ordered them to silence the enemy's battery, which 
order, notwithstanding the superiority of the enemy's posi- 
tion, was successfully accomplished in a very short space 
of time. My line, as it then existed, was shaped like the 
letter L, the shorter branch formed of one section of 
Battery M, supported by four squadrons of the Sixth 
Michigan Cavalry, faced toward Gettysburg, covering the 
Gettysburg Pike ; the long branch composed of the remain- 
ing two sections of Battery M, Second Artillery, sup- 
ported by a portion of the Sixth Michigan Cavalry on 
the left, and the First Michigan Cavalry on the right, 
with the Seventh Michigan Cavalry still further to the 
right and in advance, was held in readiness to repel any 



* General Custer erroneously calls the Hanover Road the York Turnpike, and the 
Low Dutch Road the Oxford Road. 



12 

attack the enemy micrht make coming on the Oxford Road. 
The Fifth Michigan Cavalry was dismounted and ordered 
to take position in front of my centre and left. The First 
Michigan Cavahy was held in column of squadrons to 
observe the movements of the enemy. I ordered fifty men 
to be sent one mile and a half on the Oxford Road, while 
a detachment of equal size was sent one mile and a half 
on the road leading from Gettysburg to York, both de- 
tachments being under the command of the gallant Major 
Webber, who from time to time kept me so well informed 
of the movements of the enemy that I was enabled to make 
my dispositions with complete success." 

General Gregg placed his two brigades to the left of 
General Custer's line, taking position between the Balti- 
more Turnpike and the Hanover Road. The Sixteenth 
Pennsylvania Cavalry, of Irvin Gregg's Brigade, was dis- 
mounted and, deploying as skirmishers, moved through 
the woods in the direction of Gettysburg. It had not pro- 
ceeded far when a strong picket force of Confederate in- 
fantry was found. After driving in the outposts for a 
short distance, the cavalrymen succeeded, in the face of a 
strong resistance, in establishing their line connecting with 
the infantry on the left near Wolf's Hill, and extending 
to the right as far as the Hanover Road. This had 
scarce been done, when, about noon, a dispatch from General 
Howard, the commander of the Eleventh Corps, to General 
Meade, was placed in General Gregg's hands, notifying him 
that a large body of the enemy's cavalry had been seen 
from Cemetery Hill moving toward the right of our line. 
At the same time an order was received from General Pleas- 
onton, who commanded the Cavalry Corps, directing Cus- 
ter's Brigade to join its division (Kilpatrick's) on the ex- 
treme left of the army. Accordingly, Mcintosh's Brigade 



13 

was ordered to relieve Custer's, and to occupy his posi- 
tion co\'ering the intersection of the Hanover and Low 
Dutch Roads. 

While these movements were going on upon our part, the 
Confederate cavalry, under Major-General J. E. B. Stuart, 
which for some time had been cut off from all communi- 
cation with the main body of Lee's army, was hastening to 
join it. It is needless here to follow in detail Stuart's 
earlier movements, but on July 2d, after having encountered 
Kilpatrick at Hunterstown, he arrived in the vicinity of 
Gettysburg, and took position on the York and Harrisburg 
Roads. He, too, had been marching hard and long. Men 
and horses had, like ours, suffered severely, but, marching 
as he had been through an enemy's country, his losses from 
straggling had, of course, been less than those of the Union 
cavalry. 

During the morning of July 3d, Stuart moved forward 
to the left and in advance of Ewell's Corps, for the pur- 
pose of occupying the elevated ground east of Gettys- 
burg, from which, while protecting the left of Lee's army, 
he could command a view of the routes leading to the rear 
of the Army of the Potomac, and could, at the same time, 
be in position to move out at the proper moment, and 
there attack it, simultaneously with the grand assault which 
was to be made upon Cemetery Ridge from the other side by 
Pickett's Division of Longstreet's Corps, supported by Heth's 
and Pender's Divisions and Wilcox's Brigade of Hill's Corps. 
That this was his purpose he tells us almost in so many words. 

To appreciate how well adapted was Stuart's position 
to such a move, one should stand on yonder hill back of 
Rummel's. The whole country for miles in front of him, 
clear up to Cemetery Hill and the Round Tops, lay at 



H 

his feet. In his rear a cross-country road branches oiif 
from the York Turnpike about two and a half miles from 
Gettysburg, and, crossing over the high ground mentioned by 
Stuart, runs in a south-easterly direction toward the Low 
Dutch Road, which connects the York and Baltimore Turn- 
pikes. This high ground is divided south of the cross- 
road by the upper valley of Cress' Run, forming two 
ridges, that west of the run being known as Brinker- 
hoff's Ridge, and that east of it as Cress' Ridge. A 
piece of w^oods crowns the easterly side of the ridge 
on the southerly side of the cross-road, affording protec- 
tion and cover to the supports of the battery which w'as 
subsequently placed there. Screened by this and another 
piece of woods on the opposite side of the cross-road is 
a large open space on the Stallsmith farm, where the Con- 
federate leader was enabled to mass and manoeuvre his com- 
mand unobserved by his opponents. 

The position occupied by the Union cavalry had none 
of the advantages claimed by Stuart for his own. As he 
himself states in his official report, the whole country for 
miles lay at his feet. On the other hand, the ground 
occupied by his opponents was less commanding, and more 
exposed to his view. The Low Dutch Road crosses the 
Hanover Road nearly at right angles, about three and a 
half miles south-east of Gettysburg, at the Howard house, 
and, continuing on about two miles farther in a south- 
westerly direction, strikes the Baltimore Turnpike about one 
mile and three-fourths south-east of Rock Creek and the 
rear of centre of our main line of battle. Another cross- 
country road, from half a mile to a mile nearer Gettys- 
burg, runs nearly parallel with the Low Dutch Road from 
the Hanover Road at the Reever house along the valley of 
Cress' Run, and strikes the Baltimore Turnpike by the 



IS 

bridgre over White Run about a mile south-east of the 
bridge over Rock Creek, close to which, by Powers' Hill, 
the Reserve Artillery and the ammunition trains were 
stationed. This, being the shorter and more direct road, 
was used by our troops in operating between the Bal- 
timore Turnpike and the Hanover Road. B}- these 
roads the rear of our main line of battle was directly 
accessible. About three-fourths of a mile north-east from 
the intersection of the Low Dutch and Hanover Roads 
the cross-country road first above mentioned branches 
off to the north-west toward the York Turnpike and 
the left centre of Stuart's position. This piece of woods 
near which we stand, and which since the battle has 
been somewhat reduced in extent, covered the intersec- 
tion of the Low Dutch Road and the cross-road on the 
side toward the enemy's position, extending about equi- 
distant on each road from near a lane leading down to 
John Rummel's house and farm-buildings on the north, to 
the Lott house on the south, a total distance of a half- 
mile or more. One side of this piece of woods faced 
the north-west and the enemy's position. Betw^een the 
ridge on which the Howard house stands, and along 
which the Low Dutch Road runs, and that part of Cress' 
Ridge occupied b)- the right of Stuart's line, but close 
under the latter, is a small creek known as Little's 
Run, starting from the spring-house at Rummel's. The 
Rummel farm-buildings eventually became tlie key-point of 
the field, which lies about three miles east of Gettysburg. 
The force under Gregg numbered about five thousand 
men. though not more than three thousand were actually 
engaged in the fight about to be described. It consisted 
of the three regiments of McLitosh's Brigade, Irvin Gregg's 
Brigade, and Custer's Brigade, which, as will appear, re- 



i6 

mained on the field. On the other hand Stuart had under 
his command General Wade Hampton's Brigade, consisting 
of the First North Carolina and the First and Second 
South Carolina Cavalry regiments, and Cobb's Georgia, 
the Jeff Davis, and Phillips' Georgia Legions ; General 
Fitzhugh Lee's Brigade, consisting of the First, Second, 
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Virginia Cavalry regiments, and 
the First Maryland Battalion ; and General W. H. F. Lee's 
Brigade, under Colonel John R. Chambliss, consisting of 
the Second North Carolina and the Ninth, Tenth, Thir- 
teenth, and Fifteenth Virginia Cavalry regiments. To this 
force was added, for the proposed movements of the day, 
Jenkins' Brigade of cavalry, under Colonel Milton J. Fergu- 
son, armed as mounted infantry with Enfield muskets, 
though short of ammunition, and consisting of the Four- 
teenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Virginia Cavalry regi- 
ments, and the Thirty-fourth and Thirty-sixth Virginia 
Battalions. The artillery with Stuart consisted of McGre- 
gor's Virginia, Breathed's Maryland, and Griffin's Second 
Maryland batteries. This entire force has been esti- 
mated by reliable Confederate authority at between six 
thousand and seven thousand men.* 

When Mcintosh, shortly before one o'clock in the 
afternoon, came with his brigade upon the ground occupied 
by Custer for the purpose of relieving him, he made the 
necessary inquiries as to his picket line, and the position 
and force of the enemy. Everything was quiet at the time. 
Custer reported, however, that the enemy was all around, 
and that an attack might be expected at any moment. 
The First New Jersey was at once ordered out, mounted, 

* The information as to the organization of the four Confederate brigades has been 
obtained from records in possession of the War Department. As to the Confederate 
artillery the information has been obtained through the kindness of Major H. B, 
McClellan, formed}^ Assistant Adjutant-General upon the staff of General Stuart. 



17 

to relieve Custer's pickets, taking position in the piece of 
woods on the Low Dutch Road, facing to the north-west, 
and the Third Pennsylvania and First Maryland were 
drawn up in columns of squadrons in a clover field west 
of the Lott house, awaiting developments. While in this 
position, and a few minutes after one o'clock, the tre- 
mendous artillery firing which preceded Pickett's attack 
began. Not being within range, however, the officers and 
men of the brigade, while allowing their horses to graze, 
looked with astonishment upon the magnificent spectacle. 

As soon as the Michigan Brigade had moved off for 
the purpose of joining Kilpatrick near Round Top, Mcin- 
tosh, who had looked well over the ground, determined to 
ascertain what force was in his front without waiting to be 
attacked. Accordingly, about two o'clock, he ordered Major 
Beaumont to move the First New Jersey forward toward 
the wooded crest about five-eighths of a mile in front of 
him and a short distance beyond Rummel's, expecting there 
to find the enemy. This movement was a signal for the 
deployment of a skirmish line from Rummel's barn, where 
a strong picket force of the enemy had been concealed, 
and which at once occupied a line of fences a short distance 
in front. The First New Jersey was dismounted and took 
position behind a fence running parallel with that occupied 
by the enemy, the right of the line under Major Janeway 
and the left under Captain Boyd, and immediately became 
hotly engaged. Two squadrons of the Third Pennsylvania, 
under Captains Rogers and Treichel, and the Purnell Troop, 
were deployed dismounted to the left in the open fields, and 
the two other squadrons of the Third Pennsylvania,* under 



* In the exceptionally hard work of the campaign, this regiment had become so much 
reduced in numbers that in order to increase its efficiency it had been temporarily 
consolidated into four squadrons instead of six. 



Captains Miller and Walsh, deplo}-ed mounted to the ex- 
treme right of the whole line, in the woods covering the 
cross-road above mentioned running toward the enemy's 
position. Miller on the left of the road and Walsh on the 
right. To meet this movement the Confederate skirmish 
line was strongly reinforced by dismounted men, and a 
battery was placed in position in front of the wooded 
crest back of the Rummel house. 

The Confederate battery now opened fire, and Penning- 
ton, whose battery was still in position on the Hanover 
Road near the Spangler house, replied with promptness. 
Mcintosh at once sent back for Randol and his guns, at 
the same time reporting to General Gregg that he was 
engaged with a greatly superior force, and requesting that 
Trvin Gregg's Brigade be sent up at a trot to support him. 
That brigade was yet some distance off, and Gregg, meet- 
ing Custer on the march in the opposite direction, ordered 
him to return and reinforce Mcintosh, and to remain on 
the ground until the Third Brigade could be brought up. 
Custer, ever ready for a fight, was not loth to do so. Head- 
ing his column about, he moved up at once to Mcintosh's 
support, while General Gregg came upon the field and took 
command of the forces. 

The enemy having filled the large barn at Rummel's 
with sharp-shooters, who, while picking off our men, were 
completely protected from our fire, Captain Randol, upon 
coming on the ground, placed in position, on the edge 
of an orchard back of the Howard house, a section of his 
battery under Lieutenant Chester, and opened upon the barn. 
Shell after shell from Pennington's battery and Chester's sec- 
tion struck the building, soon compelling the enemy to aban- 
don it, and, as he did so, the centre of our line advanced and 
occupied the enemy's line of fences near the farm-buildings. 



19 

Having thus pierced his Hne, a force was sent out to take the 
enemy in flank, which succeeded in driving back the por- 
tions of Jenkins' Brigade in front of our left centre. This 
movement caused the left of the enemy's line, held by the 
dismounted skirmishers of Hampton's and Fitz Lee's Bri- 
gades, to give way also. The centre and left of our line were 
thus advanced, and four squadrons of the Sixth Michigan 
went into position dismounted along Little's Run, on the left 
of the Purnell Troop, extending still further to the left, so 
as to cover the Hanover Road, the remainder of the regi- 
ment supporting them. Randol's second section, under 
Lieutenant Kinney, an officer of General Tyler's staff who 
had volunteered to serve with the battery, having come up, 
he placed it to the left and rear of Chester's section. By 
the accuracy of their fire and superior range, the two bat- 
teries soon silenced the enemy's guns on the crest back 
of Rummel's, as also some others in position more to our left 
on Brinkerhoff's Ridge. 

Meanwhile a column of Confederate cavalry began to 
move out of the woods to make a charge upon the right 
of our line, but it was at once driven back, with some loss, 
by the effective fire of our artillery. 

As the ammunition of the First New Jersey and Third 
Pennsylvania was becoming exhausted, the Fifth Michigan, 
armed with Spencer repeating carbines, was ordered to re- 
lieve them, and moved up to the front, dismounted, along 
the line of fences which intersected the field lengthwise. 
■ No sooner had it reached the Hne than a dismounted regi- 
ment from W. H. F. Lee's Brigade advanced to the sup- 
port of the enemy's skirmishers, and made a terrific on- 
slaught upon the position. The Fifth Michigan, though 
short of ammunition from the beginning of the fight, and the 
troops it had come up to relieve, held the ground stubbornly. 



20 

When the fire had slackened, the First New Jersey and 
the two Third Pennsylvania squadrons, which had been 
ordered to retire when the Fifth Michigan came up, en- 
deavored to withdraw. The enemy, believing it a signal 
of retreat, advanced, first on the right and then on the 
left. The Jerseymen and Pennsylvanians came back upon 
the line and assisted in the repulse of the attack, and 
again and again was this repeated. 

The right of the First New Jersey and of the Fifth Mich- 
igan remained at their part of the line until the last cartridge 
was used, and the last pistol emptied, and then fell back, 
but not until the}' had suffered heavily, among the killed 
being the gallant Major Ferry of the Fifth Michigan. This 
movement was taken advantage of by the enemy, and the 
First Virginia, of Fitz Lee's Brigade, was ordered to charge 
upon our right centre. As it Avas seen to start, Mcintosh 
rode over quickly to the Lott house, where he had left 
the First Maryland prepared for such an emergency. 
Gregg, however, upon coming on the field, had moved the 
regiment over to the right to cover the Low Dutch and 
Hanover Roads for the purpose of guarding more effectually 
that important quarter. The Seventh Michigan, which was 
to take its place, was just then coming upon the field 
from the direction of the Reever house in column of 
fours. Custer, who was near, also saw the emergency, 
ordered close column of squadrons to be formed at the 
gallop, and advanced with it to meet the attack. 

As the First New Jersey retired, the right of the Fifth 
Michigan swung back and took a position behind the 
fence which ran nearly parallel with the line of the 
charging column. 

The Seventh Michigan advanced boldly to meet the 
First Virginia, but, on coming up to a stone and rail 



21 

fence, instead of pushing across it, began firing with their 
carbines. The First Virginia came on, in spite of the heavy 
fire, until it reached the fence from the other side. Both 
regiments then fought face to face across the fence with 
their carbines and revolvers, while a scorching fire was 
centred upon the First Virginia from either flank. The 
enemy's reinforcements at last came up, and assisted the 
First Virginia to pass the fence, whereupon the Seventh 
Michigan gave way, the enemy following in close pur- 
suit. 

The First Virginia, becoming strung out by this move- 
ment, was exposed to a terrific fire from the two batter- 
ies in front and the skirmish lines on the flanks, while 
some of the Fifth Michigan, who had succeeded in 
mounting, advanced under Major Trowbridge to assist the 
Seventh. It was more than even the gallant First Virginia 
could stand, and it was compelled to fall back on its 
supports, which were fast advancing to its assistance.* 

Just then there appeared in the distance, emerging from 
behind the screen of woods on the cross-road by the Stall- 
smith farm, a large mass of cavalry — the brigades of 
Hampton and Fitz Lee.f Every one saw at once that 

* The statement that this preHminary charge was made by the First Virginia Cavalry 
of Fitz Lee's Brigade is based upon the autliority of General Stuart's report, con- 
firmed by a letter of General Fitzhugh Lee. General Stuart further states that the 
First North Carolina and Jeff Davis Legion were sent to the support of the First 
Virginia, and that gradually the hand-to-hand fighting involved the greater portion of 
his command. On the other hand the Rev. George W. Beale, then a lieutenant in 
the Ninth Virginia Cavalry, in a letter written a few days after the battle, and 
published in vol. xi. Southern Historical Society Papers, p. 320, stated that the charge 
was made by the Ninth and Thirteenth Virginia of W. H. F. Lee's Brigade, 
commanded by Chanibli.ss. General Wade Hampton states in his report that, see- 
ing that a portion of Chanibliss' command was being driven back by a large 
force, he ordered the First North Carolina and Jeft" Davis Legion to its supiiort, 
which drove our people back, but encountering our reserves in heavy force his 
and Fitz Lee's Brigades charged, and in the hand-to-hand fight which then occurred 
he was wounded. 

No official reports of the battle made by General Fitzhugh Lee or Colonel Chambliss 
are to be found among the Confederate official records in the War Department. 

t According to the writer's diary this was about three o'clock. 



22 

unless this, the grandest attack of all, were checked, the 
fate of the day would be decided against the Army of 
the Potomac. They were Stuart's last reserves, and his 
last resource. If the Baltimore Pike was to be reached, 
and havoc created in our rear, the important moment had 
arrived, as Pickett was even then moving up to the assault 
of Cemetery Ridge. 

In close columns of squadrons, advancing as if in re- 
view, with sabres drawn and glistening like silver in the 
bright sunlight — the spectacle called forth a murmur of 
admiration. It was, indeed, a memorable one. Chester, 
whose guns were nearest, opened fire at once, with a range 
of three-fourths of a mile. Pennington and Kinney soon 
did the same. Canister and shell were pou'red into the 
steadily approaching columns as fast as the guns could 
fire. The dismounted men fell back to the right and left, 
and such as could got to their horses. The mounted 
skirmishers rallied and fell into line. Then Gregg rode 
over to the First Michigan, which, as it had come upon 
the field a short time before, had formed close column of 
squadrons supporting the batteries, and gave the word to 
charge. As Town ordered sabres to be drawn and the 
column to advance, Custer dashed up with similar orders, 
and placed himself at its head. The two columns drew 
nearer and nearer, the Confederates outnumbering their 
opponents three or four to one. The gait increased — first 
the trot, then the gallop. Hampton's battle-flag floated in 
the van of his brigade. The orders of the Confederate 
officers could be heard, " Keep to your sabres, men, keep 
to your sabres ! " for the lessons they had learned at 
Brandy Station and at Aldie had been severe. There the 
cry had been, " Put up your sabres! Draw your pistols 
and fight like gentlemen ! " But the sabre was never a 



23 

favorite weapon with the Confederate ca\ahy, and now, in 
spite of the lessons of the past, the warnings of the pres- 
ent were not heeded by all. 

As the charge was ordered the speed increased, every 
horse on the jump, every man yelling like a demon. The 
columns of the Confederates blended, but the perfect align- 
ment was maintained. Chester put charge after charge of 
double canister into their midst, his men bringing it up to 
the guns by the armful. The execution was fearful, but 
the long rents closed up at once. As the opposing columns 
drew nearer and nearer, each with perfect alignment, every 
man gathered his horse well under him, and gripped his 
weapon the tighter. Though ordered to retire his guns, to- 
ward which the head of the assaulting column was direct- 
ed, Chester kept on firing until the enemy was within fifty 
yards, and the head of the First Michigan had come into 
the line of his fire. Staggered by the fearful execution of the 
two batteries, the men in the front of the Confederate col- 
umn drew in their horses and wavered. Some turned, and 
the column fanned out to the right and left, but those be- 
hind came pressing on. Custer, seeing the men in the 
front ranks of the enemy hesitate, waved his sabre and 
shouted, " Come on, you wolverines ! " and with a fearful 
yell the First Michigan rushed on, Custer four lengths 
ahead. 

Mcintosh, as he saw the Confederate column advancing, 
sent his Adjutant-General, Captain Walter S. Newhall, with 
orders to Rogers and Treichel to rally their men for a 
charge on the flank as it passed. But sixteen men could 
get their horses, and with five officers they made for 
the battle-flag. Newhall, sharing the excitement of the 
moment, rushed in, by the side of Rogers and Treichel, 
at the head of the little band. Miller, whose squadron 



24 

of the Third Pcnnsx-lwinia was ah-cad\' mounted, fired 
a volley from the woods on the right as the Confederate 
eolumn passed parallel with his line, and then, with sabres 
drawn, charged into the overwhelming masses of the 
enemy. 

The small detachment oi' the Thirtl Penns}-lvania under 
Rogers and Treichel struck the encnn- first, all making for 
the color-guard. Xewhall was about seizing the flag when a 
sabre cut was directed at his head, and he was compelled to 
parr}' it. At the same moment the color-bearer lowered 
his spear and struck Newhall full in the face, knocking 
him senseless to the ground. Nearly every officer and 
man in the little band was killed or wounded. Almost 
at the same moment, Miller, with his squadron of the 
Third Pennsylvania, struck the left flank about two-thirds 
of the way down the column. Going through and through^ 
he cut off^ the rear portion and drove it back past Rum- 
mel's up to the Confederate battery, and nothing but the 
hea\"\' losses which he had suffered, and the scattering of 
his men, prevented his going farther and taking it, wound- 
ed though he was. 

Meanwhile the heads of the two columns had met — 
the one led b}- Hampton and Fitz Lee, and the other by 
Custer — and were fighting hand to hand. Mcintosh, with 
his staff and orderlies, and such scattered men from the 
Michigan and other regiments as he could get together, 
charged in with their sabres. For minutes, which seemed 
like hours, amid the clashing of the sabres, the rattle of 
the small arms, the frenzied imprecations, the demands 
to surrender, the undaunted replies and the appeals for 
mercy, the Confederate column stood its ground. Captain 
Thomas of the stafT, seeing that a little more was needed 
to turn the tide, cut his wav over to the woods on the 



25 

right, where he knew he could find Hart, who had re- 
mounted his squadron of the First New Jersey. In the 
melee, near the colors, was an officer of high rank, and the 
two headed the squadron for that part of the fight. They 
came within reach of him with their sabres, and then it 
was that Wade Hampton was wounded. 

By this time the edges of the Confederate column had 
begun to wear away, and the outside men to draw back. 
As Hart's squadron and the other small parties charged in 
from all sides, the enemy turned. Then there was a pell- 
mell rush, our men following in close pursuit. Many 
prisoners were captured, and many of our men, through 
their impetuosity, were carried away by the overpowering 
current of the retreat. 

The pursuit was kept up past Rummel's, and the enemy 
was driven back into the woods beyond. The line of fences, 
and the farm-buildings, the key-point of the field, which 
in the beginning of the fight had been in the possession 
of the enemy, remained in ours until the end. The enemy, 
however, established and maintained a skirmish line on his 
side of the farm-buildings, and for a time kept up a brisk 
firing, but all serious fighting for the day was over, for 
Pickett's simultaneous attack upon Cemetery Ridge had 
also been repulsed, and the victor^-- along our line was com- 
plete. Skirmishing and some desultory artillery' firing were 
kept up at intervals by both forces until after nightfall, 
these disturbances being for the most part caused by the 
enemy's endeavors to recover his killed and wounded, who 
were lying thickly strewn over the field in our possession. 
At dark Stuart withdrew to the York Turnpike, preparatory 
to covering the retreat of Lee's army toward the Potomac. In 
the evening Custer's Brigade was ordered to join its division. 
Gregg remained all night in possession of the field of the 



26 

hand-to-hand contest, and in the morning his Third Brigade 
started in pursuit of the retreating enemy. * 

The brunt of the fighting in Gregg's Division was borne 
by the Third Pennsylvania and First New Jersey Cav- 
ahy regiments, for, by the time the Third Brigade had 
come up, the Michigan Brigade had gotten so deeply 
into the fight that it could not be withdrawn. The Third 
Brigade, together with the First Massachusetts Cavalry, 
which latter, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel 
Greely S. Curtis, had come upon the field during the fight, 
and Rank's section of artillery, had consequently been held 
in reserve, close at hand, drawn up in column of regiments 
on the south side of the Hanover Road west of the Low 
Dutch Road, near the Spangler house. The Sixteenth Penn- 
sylvania Cavalry remained all day, and until late into the 
night, upon the skirmish line established in the morning, 
interchanging at frequent intervals a brisk fire with the 
enemy's infantry, especially about the Deodorf farm-build- 
ings which were filled with his sharpshooters, and at one 
time repulsing a vigorous attack upon the line, thus ef- 
ficiently maintaining the connection between our infantry and 
cavalry, and preventing a flank attack from that quarter of 
the field. The moral effect of the presence of these troops 
in full view of the field of the fighting, and easily observed 



* The Comte de Paris states (Vol. iii., Am. Ed., Hist, of Civil War in America, page 
673, &c.) that Stuart's object was to move his command west of Cress' Ridge, so as to turn 
the left of the Union cavalry unobserved, and thus separating it from the rest of the 
army, to strike the Baltimore Turnpike without waiting for the issue of the great strug- 
gle, in order to create a panic in the rear of our main line of battle, the effect of which 
would be decisive upon the battlefield, but that his presence havnig been disclosed by the 
debouching of Hampton's and Fitz Lee's Brigades into the open fields beyond Rummel's, 
and Mcintosh having forced the fighting, he (Stuart) was compelled to leave those 
brigades to detain the Union cavalry north of the Hanover Road while he continued his 
movement with Jenkins' Brigade and that commanded by Chambliss, which also were 
soon forced to join in the fight, the consequence being that he was prevented from 
accomplishing his object. 



27 

from the enemy's position, went far toward securin^e^ the 
successful results of the day. 

The losses of the Confederate cavalry were undoubtedly 
heavy, but were never ascertained. General Gregg re- 
ported his losses to be, one officer and thirty-three enlisted 
men killed, seventeen officers and one hundred and forty 
enlisted men wounded, and one officer and one hundred 
and three enlisted men missing — total, two hundred and 
ninety-five. Custer in his official report stated his losses to 
be, nine officers and sixty-nine enlisted men killed, twenty-five 
officers and two hundred and seven enlisted men wounded, 
and seven officers and two hundred and twenty-five enlist- 
ed men missing — total, fi\e hundred and forty-two. 

It has been said that Gregg's fight at Gett\-sburg was 
one of the finest cavalry fights of the war. To borrow 
the language of Custer in his report of it : "I challenge 
the annals of w^arfare to produce a more brilliant or suc- 
cessful charge of cavalry than the one just recounted." 

Stuart, according to his custom, claimed in his official 
report that the Union cav-alry was driven from the field of 
the engagement, thus insinuating that he was the victor of 
the fight, and other Confederates are now doing likewise. 
That Ave, on the contrary, remained masters of the field is 
maintained by Generals Pleasonton, Gregg and Custer, 
and Colonels Tow^n and Alger, in their official reports. In 
denying Stuart's unwarranted insinuation you, my com- 
rades, will also bear me out.* 

* As has been stated in the text, the Union cavalry, at one time, when the two 
Confederate brigades almost reached our guns, was nearly driven from the field of 
the main fight, but Stuart omits to report correctly what followed our counter-charge, 
and his words leave an incorrect impression. 

Since the Union and Confederate commanders each claimed to have driven the other 
from the field, the Comte de Paris endeavors to settle the question by stating that the 
ground was abandoned by both parties. 



28 

We cavalrymen have always held that we saved the day at 
the most critical moment of the battle of Gettysburg — the 
greatest battle and the turning point of the War of the Rebel- 
lion. I know that it has not been the custom among histo- 
rians to give us credit for having done so, nor, except very 
recently, to give us credit for having done anything. So 
fierce was the main engagement, of which the infantry bore 
the brunt, that the fighting on the part of the cavalry passed 
almost unnoticed ; yet this was the only battle of the War in 
which the three arms of the service fought in combination 
and at the same time, each within supporting distance and 
within sight of the other, and each in its proper sphere. 
The turmoil incident to an active campaign allowed us no 
opportunity to write up our achievements, and no news- 
correspondents were allowed to sojourn with us, to do it 
for us. But now that the official records of the campaign, 
both Union and Confederate, have been brought together, 
and, for the first time, been made accessible, and the offi- 
cial map of this field has been prepared,* the Great His- 
torian of the War, as yet unknown, and perhaps unborn, 
will have at hand materials which have been denied to 
others. He will see the importance of the fight which I 
have attempted to describe, and will give it the credit 
due to it. Had Stuart succeeded in his well-laid plan, 
and, with his large force of cavalry, struck the Army of 
the Potomac in the rear of its line of battle, simultaneously 
with Pickett's magnificent and furious assault in its front, 
when our infantry had all it could do to hold on to the line 
of Cemetery Ridge, and but little more was needed to make 
the assault a success, — the merest tyro in the art of war 
can readily tell what the result would have been. Fortu- 

* In pursuance of the act of Congress of June 9th, 1880. 



29 

nately for us ; fortunately for the Army of the Potomac ; 
fortunately for our Country and the cause of human liberty, 
he failed. Thank God that he did fail, and that, with His 
Divine Assistance, the good fight fought here brought 
victory to our arms ! 

Comrades, your work here is now done — well done. This 
shaft, beautiful in its simplicity, will stand when we are 
gone, to point out in silence, from far and near, and for 
all time let us hope, the spot on which you fought so 
well. 

Before we part, never perhaps to meet again, let us not 
forget to pause one moment, and in our inmost thoughts 
pay a reverent tribute to the memory of those brave 
men, our companions-in-arms, who here poured forth the 
full measure of their lives' devotion for the Cause they 
loved. And what shall I say to those who yet survive ? 
That you, my comrades, bore each your share in that good 
fight will always be to you a pleasing memory, and when 
your children and your children's children hear and read 
of what you did on this historic field, it will ever be to 
them a source of honorable pride that you fought with 
Gre^or on the Right Flank at Gettysburg. 



'fc3t> 



"Oh ! jjlorious field of Gettj-sburg ! 
High in the rolls of fame, 
With Waterloo and Marathon 
Sliall men inscribe thy name !" 



ADDITIONAL NOTP:. 

General Custer, in his official report of the services of his brigade in the battle, inad- 
vertently included his losses in the whole of the Gettysburg campaign. Though suspected 
at the time the text was written, this was not definitely ascertained to be a fact until the 
official records in the War Department, subsequently collated, proved it to be so. The 
writer was careful in the text to assume no responsibility in quoting General Custer's 
estimate of losses. General Gregg's estimate included as well the losses in Mcintosh's 
and Irvin Gregg's brigades as those in Custer's brigade. Owing to the much fuller com- 
plement of the latter and the numbers engaged the proportion of its losses were much 
larger than those of the other brigades. According to the final corrected statement pre- 
pared by the War Department its records show the losses to have been as follows: July 
2d, in Mcintosh's and Irvin Gregg's brigades, four enlisted men killed, twelve enlisted 
men wounded, and one officer and three enlisted men captured and missing— total, 
twenty; July 3d, in Mcintosh's, Irvin Gregg's, and Custer's brigades, one officer and 
twenty-nine enlisted men killed, eighteen officers and one hundred and thirty-one enlisted 
men wounded, and seventy-five enlisted men captured and missing— total, two hundred 
and fifty-four; total on right flank, July 2d and 3d, three hundred and nine. This estimate 
does not include the losses of the batteries. 

In consequence of the movements of the cavalry during and following the battle, and 
the lapse of time before the rolls were prepared, some of the killed were included in the 
report of "captured and missing." 




c 



"Vl^^^M^U-f {/^<^^C>Op^t^ ^"^V*^ 



Gregg's Cavalry Tight 



AT 



(jcttysburg. 



X 



f-fi%^3 



